Ok so I bought the boat/trailer at the end of the season last year. I launched the boat once at a somewhat local ramp about 30 min away. I also have to bring the boat to the central DMV twice which was about 45 min drive each way. The trailer seems to be fine with the exception of some finicky lights. I'm just going to replace all of those.

Im a little late in working on the boat/trailer but either way I wanted to get a few things done before I take it back out of the garage. I have no idea what shape the bearings etc were in so i pulled one side. The outer bearing looks ok but either way I was just going to replace it. The spindle however on the bottom side looks pretty marred up. ive never had a trailer before so I dont know how much is too much. From all of my vehicle that Ive done wheel bearings on I dont usually see this. Maybe a scored race from a crapped bearing but id replace the race along with the bearing so no big deal.

Ive attached a few pics of the trailer and the spindle. I didn't get a chance to pull the other side yet but my guess is its the same. Could be worse i guess. Ill look at that one tonight. I think the outter bearing was a L44649 but I have to recheck. My guess is its a 3500# axle. I really hope it is since i have a 21' boat on it. So the trailer is fully loaded. I cant imagine that its a 2000# axle as im sure its been with the boat for at least the last 15 or 20 years and is still rolling.

So i looked at KMT Service Parts see that I can get a replacement 3500# axle with hubs and bearings for $111? $100 for shipping which sounds right i guess. And for another $100 I can get electric breaks with it? In CT technically anything over 3000lbs GVW is supposed to have breaks on it. It would be nice to have and it would then be "legal" but I tow it with an older chevy 1 ton with the dual wheel drums in the back with a single wheel setup. And I replaced all breaking components and it has no issue taking the extra load. Should I just get the new axle? is the old one still ok? Give me some feedback here.

That spindle looks pretty badly chewed up. It looks like the outer bearing was spinning on the spindle. If it were mine, I would replace the axle. Look at the capacity plate on the trailer to be sure what the correct axle should be.

Comment

So i looked at the axle again. It looks like the surfaces where the bearings actually ride are fine? I remember reading somewhere that the spindles are sometimes only finish machined where the bearing surfaces are.

When I put just the bearing on the spindle it feels quite snug. Not sloppy at all.

Normally I would just buy a new axle and swap it but they seem to be more difficult to get then I thought. Shipping basically double the price of the axle. In addition to that it seems like most places have a 3-4 week lead time...

The threads on the end of the spindle look pretty much gone. I don't think a die would bring them back in shape. For a safety stand point I would replace the spindle or complete axle.

Hmm yeah i think id like to do something with it. I really would like to just replace the spindle but it seems like a big deal? Alot of people are saying just to replace the whole axle. The other side looks to be in pretty good shape. Is welding on a new spindle a big deal for a welding shop to do? What kind of price should I expect for a new spindle? Also since this is a 2" drop square galvanized axle can I even obtain the proper replacement?

As for replacing the whole axle it seems the only 2" drop square galvenized axle I can find is a direct replacement EZ loader axle something like this one.2" Square (3500 lbs.) EZ-Loader Drop Axle #02-4287-10 Its $275 though and its just the axle. Tack on another $40 for shipping and im not even sure if its a stocked item.

Can I replace it with a straight axle? Also 2"x2" square galvanized but there is no drop. Here is a link of something that might work 85.25" Square Galvanized Trailer Axle (3500 lb.) #49559 So I would expect that I would have an additional 2" of clearance in the fender wells and the whole trailer will ride about 2" higher. Is this bad? As it is there isnt much clearance in the fender well when the trailer is loaded but the tires never rub. Any reason to not use a straight axle?

Here are a few better pictures of what im working with. You can see the 2" drop and the top of the suspect "bad" spindle.

Comment

Ok so i think im going to go with the straight 2" square galvanized. Basically the same as what I have now but without the 2" drop.

I'm having trouble removing the old axle. I removed all 4 u bolts 2 on each side of the axle. The axle doesn't seem to budge off of the springs. Is it attached to the springs? I know there is supposed to be a hole drilled in the axle for the spring seats but it doesn't appear to be a through hole as there is nothing on the top of the axle. You can see this in the picture above. Is it just a pin that goes through the leaf stack and centers the axle? Is there a trick to releasing this?

I know old thread, but I am faced with the same problem with the same trailer.
Did the straight axle work for you?

I actually used the original axle and bought new spindles for about $20 each. I had a local welder cut the old ones off and weld on the new ones. It went from a 2" drop to a 1.75" drop but I notice no difference. It's been good all season.

I think the straight axle would have worked just fine. It would just raise you up 2". Depending on your boat it may or may not be a big deal. More then likely it won't matter and you wouldn't even notice the differance.